Indian History

Fort Macleod - Our Colourful Past - pages 7 - 16

The relationship between Fort Macleod and its neighboring
Indians has been one of extremes. One reserve, which borders
the town on the south, is the largest in Canada, covering 541
square miles. The Bloods that live there have been characterized
as haughty in demeanor, dignified in bearing, and independent
in spirit, as well as the most progressive and intellectual
Indians in Western Canada. To the town's west is the Peigan
Reserve, taken by the country's smallest Blackfoot tribe to sign
a treaty, progressive in its own right, being among the
first in the province to demand a vote in Alberta elections and
the first to assume administration of its own reserve.

The Indians were welcomed in the town, then discouraged
from coming, called savages one forced to adopt a foreign way of
life and showed quick adaptability. They faced severe setbacks
but had resiliency that saw them recover both from a decimated
population and failures in the fields.

The Bloods and Peigans are part of the Blackfoot confederacy.
The political division was apparent when both groups first came in
contact with the white man. According to an article by Rev. S. H.
Middleton printed in the Lethbridge Herald in 1921, they were
found by Mackenzie during his exploration of the upper and middle
northwest. They occupied the territory from the North Saskatchewan
River to the headwaters of the Missouri River in Montana
and from a line just west of where Regina was later located to the
foot of the Rocky Mountains.

The Bloods

The nomadic Bloods, or "kai-nau"-many chiefs-followed
the buffalo, hunting them on foot and by the 1700's, by horseback.
Hugh Dempsey, director of history for the Glenbow-Alberta Institute,
writes that the horse and gun"were largely responsible for the high
degree of organization and mobility of the Bloods." Horses became
an integral part of their lives shortly after they first obtained them in
the early 1700's. They broadened the Bloods horizons, providing "a
means of easier hunting and, as a symbol of wealth, a reason for
warfare." Their aggression led to frequent battles with enemies the
Crees, Assiniboine, Sioux, Crow and Kutenai.

When fur trading posts were established on the border of
Blackfoot country just before 1800, traders tried to persuade
the Bloods to trap animals other than the buffalo, such as beaver,
for their pelts, but the Bloods refused to succumb to the temptations
of alcohol that was offered them.

However, by the 1860's, whisky traders that followed the
gold miners and ranchers into Montana created the conditions
under which the tribe began to degenerate. Fire water - whisky
diluted by red ink and fortified with tobacco- brought the
demoralized Bloods to a level of poverty. Ironically, their shrewd
bargaining helped to do them in. The following sketch was
carried in the Lethbridge Herald:

"The traders were a bad lot, although they themselves
acknowledged there was nothing bad but bullets. They had a neat
little habit of dealing out liquid refreshment to the Indians sort of
along the lines of 'put and take' but it was mostly take on the traders
part. For two tin cups of the liquid, they took one buffalo robe and
so on. The alcohol was usually highly-diluted, but some Indians,
particularly the Blackfoot, knew their alcohol and demanded
something that would light when you put a match to it - real
firewater."

Their state-the trading of anything of value to the Americans and
the resulting starvation and susceptibility to harsh winters-brought
the North West Mounted Police to establish Fort Macleod, from
which they stopped in short order the trade of whisky that had led
to the Indians' demise.

The decline of the buffalo, which were slaughtered for their hides
in far greater numbers after the repeating rifle was introduced
to the hunt, combined with the endless other problems the Bloods
faced to bring them to the 1877 treaty talks with the federal
government at Blackfoot Crossing on the Bow River. But, there
was some concern the chiefs would not show up.

Treaty Number Seven

The Bloods were angry because the federal government had
agreed to change the location for the treaty talks to Blackfoot
Crossing from Fort Macleod. Crowfoot, a key negotiator for the
Blackfoot nation, would not meet in a white man's fort and
pressured the Queen's representatives to make the change,
even though Fort Macleod was a convenient, centrally located
meeting place. Blackfoot Crossing, on the other hand, was solely
within Blackfoot territory and the Bloods regarded the move as an
inconvenience to themselves, the Peigans and the Sarcees.

When negotiations began on September 17, 1877, only a few
Peigans were present and the Bloods were absent, except for
Chief Medicine Calf who, ironically, was among the most
distrusting of white man. Blood chief Red Crow finally showed
up after a two-day boycott.

A report in the Toronto Globe and Mail following the talks
documents the delay. Lieutenant-Governor David Laird,
representing the Queen and the government, said: "We
appointed this day and I have come a very long distance
to keep my promise, and have called you together to
discover if you all have responded to my summons, and if any
chiefs are now absent, to learn when they shall arrive. You say
that some of the Blood Chiefs are absent, and as it is our wish
to speak to them as well as to you, and as they have a very
long way to come to reach this place we shall give them until
next Wednesday to come in."

The Globe and Mail report also included evidence of
the wide-spread interest the talks held for people in Fort
Macleod: "On Wednesday, the Commissioners met the chiefs at
the great Council House. A guard of honor of fifty mounted men
accompanied them, commanded by Major Irvine. The police
band received them and at one o'clock the guns fired a salute
as the Governor and Colonel Macleod took their seats. There
were present at the opening of the treaty a number of ladies
and gentlemen who had come long distances to witness this
novel spectacle. Mrs. Winder, Mrs. Shurtliffe and a number of
other ladies from Morleyville and Edmonton, also the Reverend
Messrs. Scollen and McDougall, Mr. de l'Heureux, Mr. Conrad,
Mr. Bogy, and the whole white population of Fort Macleod.
Nearly all the chiefs and minor chiefs of the Blackfoot, Blood,
Peigan, Stony and Sarcee tribes were seated directly in front
of the Council House; and forming a semi-circle of about one-third
of a mile beyond the chiefs, about four thousand men, women and
children were squatted on the grass . . ."

The terms of the treaty were outlined by Lieutenant-Governor
Laird. Because "in a very few years the buffalo will probably be
all destroyed," the Queen offered a way by which the Indians
could make a living and support themselves and their families,
but there was a price. For allowing white men to bring cattle
onto their land, the Indians would be provided with cattle of their
own and would be shown how to raise them and how to grow
grain, Laird told the chiefs.

Reserves designed for one square mile of land for each five
Indians were set aside on the north side of the Bow River
twenty miles northwest of Blackfoot Crossing and extending
to the junction of the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan
Rivers for the Blackfoot, Bloods and Sarcees. The strip of
land averaged four miles wide. After ten years, the reserve
was to be moved to the south side of the Bow River. The
Peigan reserve was to be near the foot of the Porcupine Hills
on the Old Man River at Crow's Creek.

Each person was to be paid $12 upon the signing of the
Treaty and $5 a year after that. Chiefs were to be paid $25
each, minor chiefs $15 and $2,000 a year was to be paid
for distribution among the Indians for ammunition. Once
every three years, chiefs and minor chiefs were to receive
a new suit of clothing. With the signing of the Treaty, each
chief was to receive a flag and medal and during the next
year a Winchester rifle. Each band was to be given ten axes,
five handsaws, five augers, one grindstone, files and a whetstone.

For the instruction of children on the reserves, the government
would hire and pay the salaries of teachers, according to the
terms of the treaty.

Each family of five was to receive two head of cattle; families
of from five to ten persons, three cows, and families of more
than ten, four cows. One bull per band was also to be provided.
For those who wanted to try farming, they could take in the
place of one cow two hoes, one spade, one seythe and two
hayforks. One plough and one harrow would be shared by three
families. Potato, barley, oats and wheat seeds would be
provided.

The following day, the chiefs replied:

Medicine Calf (Button Chief) of the Bloods:
"The Great Spirit sent the white man across the Great Waters to
carry out his (the Great Spirit's) ends. The Great Spirit, and not
the Great Mother, gave us this land. The Great Mother ( the
Queen) sent Stamixotokon (Colonel Macleod) and the Police to
put an end to the traffic in firewater. I can sleep now safely.
Before the arrival of the Police when I laid my head down at
night every sound frightened me; my sleep was broken; now I
sleep sound and am not afraid. The Great Mother sent you to
this country and we hope she will be good to us for many years.
I hope and expect to get plenty; we think we will not get so
much as the Indians receive from the Americans on the other
side; they got large bags of flour, sugar, tea, and blankets; the
next year it was only half the quantity, and the following years it
grew less and less, and now they give only a handful of flour.
We want to get fifty dollars for the chiefs, and thirty dollars each
for all the others, men women and children, and we want the
same every year for the future. We want to be paid for all the
timber the Police and whites have used since they first came
to our country. If it continues to be used as it is, there will soon
be no firewood left for the Indians. I hope, Great Father, that you
will give us all this that we ask."

Lieutenant-Governor Laird replied: "I think Button Chief is
asking too much . . . Why, you Indians ought to pay us rather for
sending these traders in firewater away and giving you
security and peace, rather than we pay you for timber used."
The Indians laughed.

Representing the Peigans was Sitting on an Eagle Tail, who
observed that ". . . the advice and help I received from the
Police I shall never forget as long as the moon brightens the
night, as long as the water runs, and the grass grows in the
spring, and I expect to get the same from our Great Mother.
I hope she will supply us with flour, tea, tobacco and cattle,
seed and farming implements."

The next day, the government's terms were accepted and
Button Chief reluctantly agreed. " I must say what all the
people say, and I agree with what they say. I cannot make
new laws. I will sign."

The great chief of the Bloods, Red Crow, was among several
others who spoke the day the treaty was accepted: "Three
years ago, when the Police first came to the country, I met and
shook hands with Stamixotokon (Colonel Macleod ) at Belly
River. Since that time, he made me many promises. He kept
them all-not one of them was ever broken. Everything that
the police have done has been good. I entirely trust
Stamixotokon and will leave everything to him. I will sign
with Crowfoot."

Five days after the negotiations had begun, the chiefs and
councillors signed the treaty, on September 21. The
correspondent for the Globe and Mail was a little concerned
with what transpired the following day.

"On Sunday afternoon the Indians fought a sham battle on
horseback. They only wore the breech cloths. They fired off
their rifles in all directions and sent the bullets whistling past
the spectators in such close proximity as to create most
unpleasant feelings. I was heartily glad when they filed
past singly on the way back to their lodges and the last of
their unearthly yells had died away in the distance."

The next three days were taken up with paying off the tribes.
Inspector Winder, Subinspector Denny and Sub-inspector
Antrobus did the honors, helped by constables from the force.
"It was hard work to find out the correct number of each family.
Many after receiving their money would return to say that they
made a wrong count; one would discover that he had another
wife; another two more children, and others that they had
blind mothers and lame sisters. In some cases, they wanted
to be paid for the babies that were expected to come soon,"
the Globe and Mail reported. In the end, 4,392 Indians received
a total of $53,000.

When the final addresses were made by the Indians, the
lieutenant-governor and Colonel Macleod, police interpreter
and guide Jerry Potts observed that he had never heard
Indians speak out their minds so freely in his life before.

For the Peigans, Sitting on an Eagle Tail, Many Swans, Morning
Plume and Crow Eagle signed.

Fort Macleod took an immediate part in the signing of the treaty-
those who were unable to make it to Blackfoot Crossing signed
at the Macleod detachment and received their treaty money.
Unfortunately, most did not realize the value of their newly-
acquired wealth and ruthless traders soon had it all. The
result contributed to the destitution which was soon upon them.

When the Bloods were faced with settling on the arid stretch of
land assigned to them along the Bow, they balked. They
preferred their winter camping area along the Belly River so
officials drew up a new treaty in 1883 setting aside a reserve
between the Belly River on the north, the St. Mary River on
the east,and a line between the two rivers and the international
boundary at 49 degrees, 12 minutes, 16 seconds north latitude.

The 1880's saw both progress and disaster for the Bloods.
Some adapted to their new lifestyles, showing an aptitude for
farming and even prospered at it. They built cottonwood log
houses along the Belly and planted small gardens. From 250
acres of land broken in 1882, 70,000 pounds of turnips and
potatoes were harvested. Later, wheat, oats, barley and other
vegetables were successfully grown. However, diseases
introduced by the white man took their toll and reduced their
numbers to 1,776 in 1885 from 2, 488 in 1878. Influenza,
whooping cough, measles, scrofula and tuberculosis became
epidemics with the help of the conditions under which the
Indians lived, their cabins unhealthy and their food scarce. By
1920, the Blood population was less than half what it was a year
after the treaty was signed.

During the 1890's, cattle ranching was started on the reserve
when Red Crow and Crop Eared Wolf exchanged some of their
horses for 15 head of cattle each. Some others acquired lesser
amounts, but by 1900 there were 1,500 head of cattle on the
reserve.

In 1907, another economic change came with the purchase of
a steam ploughing outfit and the hiring of farming instructors.
The result, by 1916, was a tally of 65,000 bushels of wheat,
27,000 bushels of barley and 7,600 tons of hay harvested. The
Indians had accomplished that by themselves. Crop failures and
the First World War caused temporary delays in the progress of
the Bloods, but they were on their way as farmers and ranchers.

The Peigans

The post-treaty Peigans followed a pattern similar to that of the
Bloods. They started out in the early 1880's planting crops, under
the direction of a farming instructor, and were quite successful
until a drought in 1886 started about 15 years of crop failures.
But, it took the government a while to catch on, to admit its policy
of encouraging farming on the Peigan reserve was a mistake. In
1898, Indian agent H. H. Nash finally got through to the
government in his report, which suggested that "climatic conditions
of wind, drought and frost prohibit successful farming on this
reserve." He recommended attention be turned to cattle raising,
which, started in the late 1880's, had proven viable.

The cattle industry provided opportunities also for those Indians
who did not own any. Jobs were created in herding, rail cutting,
hauling and hay sales.

Indian agent Nash's report of 1897 paints a detailed picture of life
on the Peigan Reserve. The reserve, sixteen miles west of Fort
Macleod, covered 181 square miles, with a timber limit of 11
square miles. Stock-raising and root-growing were listed as
resources. Population that year consisted of 189 men, 230 women,
157 boys and 163 girls, a total of 739. The 28 births were
surpassed by 41 deaths, mostly from old age, scrofula and
consumption. Nash noted a high infant mortality rate, with many
children dying before they reached their fourth birthdays. He
concluded that the Indians enhanced their health in the spring by
moving from their houses to lodges. "The houses in this way get
thoroughly aired before winter. The premises are kept fairly clean,
all refuse being either burnt or hauled away.

Besides their lucrative ranching operations, the Peigans also made
a living working for settlers surrounding the reserve, by freighting,
butchering, making rawhide ropes, hackamores, fancy bridles,
beadwork and buckskin gloves. "The men also kill wolves and
break horses and the women sometimes wash and do other work
for settlers."

The agent's assessment was that the Indians were becoming
better off with each passing year and were starting to show
initiative. He singled out Lost Big Swan, Otter Above, Good
Prairie Chicken, Muggins, Pretty Face, Many Chiefs, The Rider,
Wolf Robe, Spider, Strong Buffalo, Grassy Water, Commodore,
North Peigan, Many Guns, Iron Shirt and Sunday as having
well-kept houses.

Missions and Schools

Agent Nash's 1897 report on the Peigan reserve mentioned
that the "Indians are not at all susceptible to religious influences,
" but it wasn't for a lack of effort on the part of the missionaries.

Starting in 1874, seven missions were established to bring
Christianity to the Indians in the Fort Macleod area. Along
with the religion, some school was taught at the reserves.
The St. Croix parish was built at Fort Macleod in 1874 and
was followed by Conversion de St. Paul, St. Charles and St.
Paul des Peigan parish on the Peigan reserve and St. Francois
Xavier, St. Leon and Ste. Catherine missions on the Blood
reserve. Father Scollen and Father Doucette figured prominently
in the first missions, founding St. Croix and assisting with others.

Bishop Emile Legal was school inspector for the area from a
base at Stand Off between 1883 and 1897. He established a
classroom on the Peigan reserve in 1890, which was run by
Father Foisy and Brother Jean, a teacher.

In 1885, Bishop Grandin decided to close down the missions
in Southern Alberta, but the missionaries here asked him to
reconsider. He acceded to their wishes.

Two years earlier, an industrial school for Blood and Peigan
children was built near High River. Dunbow School was one
of four established on the Prairies to teach academics and
trades, largely agriculture, to the Indians. The others were in
the Qu'Appelle, Battleford and Edmonton districts.

Father Lacombe chose the Dunbow site and, according to his
journal, visited there with Father Vantighem on a trip from
Edmonton to Fort Macleod in 1883. A Gazette editorial
acknowledged that "it is possible that this school will be under
the charge of the Roman Catholic Mission. If this is the case
there is no one we should like to see at the head of it more than
our good friend Father Lacombe, whose noble and gentle
character would soon attach the Indian children to their new
home."

According to the Gazette, "The object of the school and
proposed method of arrangement are briefly as follows: Young
Indian children are to be taken from the camp and placed in the
school, where their parents can go and see them as often, in
reason, as they choose. They are to be taught gradually the
different trades and a little education. The first object will be
to attach them to the surroundings and to attain this end, they
will be furnished with all kinds of amusement and recreation."

The school remained open until 1922. In 1926, St. Mary's
Residential School was opened at Stand Off and the same
year Sacred Heart School started at Brocket.

As suggested at the introduction of this chapter, the effect
the Indians have had on Fort Macleod and its residents-or,
at least Fort Macleod's view of the Indians - has varied
greatly. When it came to payment of the treaty money each
year, town merchants rubbed their hands in anticipation. When
parades accompanied the annual fair and exhibition, the In-
dians in their colorful dress were the highlight. At other times,
however, many were treated with at best indifference.

Relatively good times in the late 1880's brought new faces to
the territories, and the Gazette ran an article on September 20,
1888 for the newcomers entitled, "Indian Trading, What They
Buy and How They Buy It." "A Curious Mixture of Humanity
and Yellow Dogs":

"One of the important annual events in this part of Alberta is
the treaty payments to the Blood and Peigan Indians, or rather
the trading in town which follows. The Indians were paid last
week, nearly 4,000 of them in all, and for the subsequent two
days there was a constant stream from the reserves to town.
The Peigans came first. On Saturday the Blood procession began,
and all day Sunday they arrived in droves of hundreds. Each
family could probably boast of about three dogs to the individual.

On Monday morning it was estimated that there was close on
to 2,000 Indians in town. The stores were simply packed with
men, women, children and dogs. During almost the entire morning
it was absolutely impossible to get from one end of I. G. Baker
and Co's store to the other. It is safe to say that no city in the
Dominion of Canada presented the same stir as Macleod did
on Monday last. An individual examination of the motley crowd
was very amusing. The day was very warm, and yet one would
see the solemn and dignified visage of some of the old men sur-
mounted by the most extra-ordinary designs of heavy fur caps,
pulled down well about the ears. Usually these fur caps were
minus any top. Everyone talked at once, and the interior of a
store was probably as near an approach to bedlam as one would
meet in a lifetime.

By the middle 1890s there seemed to be a prevailing attitude
that the "savages" must be kept out of Macleod. New settlers
moved into the district and a new morality came with them; the
wicked uncivilized past would no longer be tolerated .

An editorial carried in the November 14, 1899 edition of the
Macleod Advance recognized a resulting problem and the
indifference town residents showed toward the Indians:

"In former years during treaty times the merchants of the
town were not averse to spending a few dollars for the
benefit of the Indians, and to encourage them to come
into town to do their trading. The merchants were in the
habit of brewing large quantities of strong tea, which would
be placed in some convenient spot in the store where the
Indians could get at it readily. A barrel of biscuits could be
left uncovered close beside the tea and the Indians were
then allowed to regale themselves to their hearts' content.
Money would also be subscribed and this would be spent in
furnishing the dusky customers with sport in the way of
horse racing and other kinds. Nowadays, our businessmen,
in their eagerness to obtain possession of poor Loo's
crisp new dollar bills, seem to have forgotten their old-time
custom.

This custom should not be allowed to drop. It is a great
drawing card, this consideration for the comfort and
pleasure of the Indians. For sometime past, we find that
a great many Indians have been visiting Lethbridge, Cardston
and Pincher Creek directly they became possessed of the
long green, and have almost completely left Macleod men
out in the cruel cold. The reason for this is not hard to find. Has
this state of things been brought about by the fact that Indians
can get better action on their money in those places than in
Macleod? No, we think not, but the merchants doing business
in the places we have mentioned have drawn the Indian trade
their way by reason of the consideration they have shown for
the Indians themselves, and are not tight-fisted in the matter of
expending a few dollars for the people whose trade they seek to
cater to. Macleod was a thriving town years before any of the
above mentioned places came into existence. Our businessmen
held the confidence of the Indian populace and if they have of
late years lost their grip, they must blame themselves for it. The
businessmen of Macleod are in shape to cater to this trade,
having brought in large quantities of goods suitable for the needs
of the Indians. Let them chuck a brace, and those who are in
any way likely to benefit by an influx of Indian visitors let them,
we say, get up something in the way of sports so that the Indian
trade may be directed to Macleod and kept here."

The editorial not only recognized the indifference, but was a
good example of it.